George Floyd was a son, a brother, a father and a member of our community. His death was unjust and the direct result of systemic racism that has long been present in this country. We demand accountability for George Floyd’s death, but also for the countless other acts of racism that go unnoticed in our city and country each and every day.
We recognize that we cannot demand accountability from others without first holding ourselves accountable. As an industry, we have not done enough to address systemic racism and inequality. To that end, Periscope has reviewed our diversity and inclusion efforts and found that we have fallen far short of the standard we wish to uphold.
Today, we are announcing four major initiatives to change for the better:
First, we are making a public commitment to take steps to ensure our agency workforce better reflects the diversity of the communities and customers we serve. Today, people of color are dramatically underrepresented in our industry and workforce, so it is clear we have work to do. Therefore, we will be making immediate adjustments to the way we recruit for diverse talent, including providing unconscious bias training to hiring managers and improving the representation in applicant pools for every open position going forward.
Second, in order to ensure we meet that commitment, we will be sharing our progress toward a more diverse workforce. We will provide details on the initiatives we took, the success of those measures, and our progress toward our diversity goals. We urge other agencies and the industry at large to take similar steps to increase transparency around this critical issue.
Third, we are increasing our investment in developing talented people of color through a renewed partnership with 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP), as well as more outreach to high schools, colleges and universities. We also recognize the need to improve representation in senior and leadership roles at Periscope, and we will be working to implement specialized mentorship and management training programs focused on diversity and inclusion in the coming months. Together, these programs will help us achieve our goals of improving the attraction, retention and promotion of people of color within Periscope.
Fourth, we are committing to providing pro bono campaign work to nonprofit organizations that have a mission to combat racial inequality. As an agency that prides itself on creating compelling work founded in empathy, we feel that together with these organizations, we can change the conversation in America and advance the changes that are so urgently needed in our society.
Doing things people love means fighting indifference and taking a firm stand against hate. We condemn racial injustice and police brutality in the strongest possible terms and affirm our commitment to a more just world for all.
